Roll changing device for rolling mills



April 15, 1969 J. R. ADAlR 3,438,234

ROLL CHANGING DEVICE FOR ROLLING MILLS File d Jan. 26, 1967 Sheet of 2 INVENTOR JAMES R. ADAIR BY QM HIS A ORNEY J. R. ADAIR ROLL CHANGING DEVICE FOR ROLLING MILLS Filed Jan. 26, 1967 April 15, 1969 Sheet |NVENTOR M W W R m .0 T J /A Y8 B H L FiAE w 3m 4 ....i m 1 NH 1 L t 1 3 T w. r 1 Tw mm b l I m i m L E l 3 Q m 1 A M Q l 3 {MN b1 3 mm [J United States Patent US. Cl. 72-238 5 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The present disclosure relates to a rolling mill and, more particularly, to an improved design for facilitating the changing of the rolls of the mill while the material is still passing through the rolls. A mill having two rolls is equipped with a beam designed to extend between the housing posts and adapted to carry the drive side top roll chock. The top roll at its drive side is urged upwardly by a pair of balance cylinders, which cylinders also serve to support the drive side of the top roll during the initial withdrawal of the roll from the mill. In the bottom of the mill there is provided a sled which carries both rolls as a unit into and out of the mill. After the initial withdrawal movement of the rolls, the drive side of the top roll is transferred from the balance cylinders to the beam, which carries the top roll during the remainder of the withdrawal.

It has become a common practice in recent years to include a rolling mill as an integral part of the processing line, such as, a pickling or annealing line. In this arrangement it becomes necessary to change the rolls of the mill without requiring the discontinuance of operation of the processing line. While, in this instance, the rolling mill will not be employed to process the material, the material continues to be fed through the line. It is important, however, that the rolling mill be brought back into operation as quickly as possible.

Therefore, it is an object of this present invention to provide in combination with a rolling mill an apparatus for facilitating the quick changing of the rolls thereof while the material is passing between the rolls, but not engageable thereby.

More particularly, the present invention provides a member arranged parallelly to one of the rolls of the mill which is adapted to serve as a bridge to carry at least one of the rolls over the strip during the removal and insertion thereof. In combination with the bridge member there may be provided means for engaging and disengaging the drive side chock from the member so that during normal operation the chock is held out of engagement with the beam, but during roll changing can be brought into engagement so that its weight can be supported during traverse through the mill.

More particularly, the present invention provides in combination with a mill of the type used in a pickling line, having a pair of rolls, said rolls having chocks at their opposite ends, means for engaging the chocks at their 0pposite ends, means for engaging the chocks of the lower roll and carrying the lower roll with its chocks out of the mill, a beam fixedly arranged in the upper part of the mill and extending through the mill and having a portion overhanging the side opposite the drive side. The upper roll chock at the drive side provided with projections to which there is secured wheels arranged to engage said beam, a stool insertable between the chocks of both rolls at the side opposite the drive side of the mill. Double acting piston cylinder assembly arranged in the chock at the drive side of the mill for separating the upper roll from the lower roll at this side of the mill, said piston cylinder assembly adapted to raise said upper drive side chock so that said wheels are placed in position for engagement with said beam while said piston cylinder assemblies are operative. Said beam being laterally spaced from said upper drive side chock whereby said wheels cannot contact the beam during operation of the mill, said cylinder supporting said upper drive side chocks during initial lateral movement of said upper roll, and until the wheels thereof move above the beam, after which the operation of the cylinder is interrupted so as to allow the drive side upper roll chock to rest on said beam and be carried thereby on the continuation of the lateral movement, and means for moving said .lower roll so as to move both rolls as a unit out of the mill, said movement: being interrupted when the drive side upper roll chock passes the material issuing through the mill. A stool insertable between the drive side chocks of the upper and lower roll when the drive side upper chock passes the material, and means for causing the upper roll chock to disengage itself from the beam so that the upper roll is supported by the pair of stools which, in turn, are supported by the chocks of the lower roll.

These objects, as well as various other novel features and advantages of the present invention, will be better appreciated from the following description thereof when considered along with the accompanying drawings of which:

FIGURE 1 is a side view of a mill incorporating the present invention showing the drive side of the mill;

FIGURE 2 is an elevational view of a rolling mill shown in FIGURE 1; and

FIGURE 3 is a second embodiment of the present invention.

With reference to the drawings there is shown in FIG- URE l a housing 11 on the drive side of the mill. FIG- URE 2 shows a similar housing 12, but on the operators side of the mill. The mill includes the customary components, which being a two-high mill, includes a cooperative pair of work rolls 13 and 14 which are rotatably received in bearing-chock assemblies 15 and 16, respectively, arranged at their opposite ends and received in the Windows of the housings. The rolls are urged apart from each other by the usual balance piston cylinder assemblies 17, FIGURE 1 showing the pair of balance cylinder assemblies for the upper drive side chock, it being understood that similar cylinders are arranged on the operating side associated with the housing 12. These cylinders, in particular the ones at the drive side, are double acting for a reason to be explained later.

The upper roll 13 is adjusted vertically in the window relative to the lower roll 14 by a pair of screws 18 which are received in nuts 19 secured against rotation in the top of the housings, the screws being driven through a motor or gear drive 21. The chocks 16 of lower roll 14, as shown in FIGURE 2, are carried by a horizontally extending sled 24 which runs between the housings and extends into the windows thereof and on which the chocks of the lower roll rests. The rolling loads pass from the lower chocks 16 of the lower roll 14 into the sled and thus, into the housings.

Sled 24 is constructed to be slidably movable relative to the housings and serves as an essential part of the roll changing apparatus. For this reason the sled extends away from the housing, viewing FIGURE 2, and is connected by a yoke 26 to a piston cylinder assembly 27, the cylinder being capable of moving the entire roll out of the mill into a place shown in phantom lines in FIG- URE 2.

As shown in FIGURE 2, with respect to the phantom arrangement of the rolls, the upper roll 13 is adapted to be supported in the position in front of the mill by stools 28 and 29. Since it is an object of the present invention to provide a construction which will allow the rolls to be removed and inserted into the mill while the strip is still passing between the rolls, means must be provided for supporting the drive side upper chock while the rolls are being moved out of and into the mill on the operation of the piston cylinder assembly 27. To accomplish this, there is provided, in referring to FIGURE 2, a pair of spaced-apart, parallelly extending beams 31 and 32, which are secured to the housings 11 and 12. As shown in FIGURE 2, the beams toward the drive side of the mill do not extend through the window of the housing 11, but are secured to its inner face. In this arrangement the chock 15 of the upper roll 13 at the drive side can move vertically within the window without contacting the beams 31 and 32. The upper drive side chock, as will be noted, is provided with projections 33 to which wheels 34 are rotatably secured, the wheels being arranged to engage with the upper furnaces of the beams 31 and 32. At the operators side of the mill, i.e., the side shown in FIGURE 2, the beams extend out from the housings, in which regard the upper surfaces thereof are provided with chamfer surfaces 35.

The rolls of the illustrated mill are changed according to the following procedure: In order to remove the rolls while the material is still passing between them, the screws 18 are rotated so as to allow the upper roll 13 to be moved away from the lower roll 14 on the operation of the balance piston cylinder assemblies 17. When this occurs, the stool 29 is inserted between the chocks 15 and 16 at the operators side of the mill. Then the balance cylinder assemblies in the housing 12 can be collapsed so that the chock 15 and upper roll 13 on the operators side are actually carried by the chock 16 of lower roll 14 on the same side of the mill. The operation of piston cylinder assemblies on the drive side is continued so as to hold the chocks 15 of the upper roll away from the lower roll. The balance cylinder assemblies serve this purpose until the drive side upper chock 15 is over the beams 31 and 32. At this point the piston assemblies, which, as noted before, are double acting, are retracted so as to allow the wheels 34 to come into a supporting relationship with the beams, whereby the drive side end of the upper roll 13 is carried by the beams. The operating side of this roll, as previously noted, is supported by the lower chock 16 through the stool 29. Once the wheels 34 are engaged with the beams 31 and 32, the cylinder 27 is again operated to retract the rolls out of the mills until each of the drive side chocks assume the position between the outer face of the housing 12 and the end of the beams 31 and 32. At this point the cylinder 27 is stopped until the stool 28 is inserted between the drive side chocks 15 and 16. When this happens, withdrawal of the rolls is continued and the wheels 34 automatically fall out of engagement with the beams by reason of the inclined surfaces at the end thereof; thus, they become supported by the lower drive side chocks through the stool 28.

In inserting a new pair of rolls, the aforesaid procedure is reversed. The new pair of rolls are supported by the stools 28 and 29. The-cylinder 27 is operated to bring the drive side chocks over the front end of the beams 31 and 32 and once the wheels 34 of the upper chock engage the rails, the cylinder is stopped so that the stool 28 can be removed from between the drive side chocks. Once this occurs, the rolls, which are held apart so as not to interfere with the moving material passing through the mill, are inserted into the mill until the wheels approach the end of the beams at the drive sides. At this point the piston cylinder assemblies 17 at the drive side between the chocks are operated to take the weight off the upper roll so that on further operation of the piston cylinder assembly 27 to bring the rolls eniirely into the mill, the drive side upper portion of the roll 16 is carried by the piston cylinder assemblies 17. Once the rolls are in the mill, the stool 29 is removed and the balance piston cylin- 4, der assemblies 17 at this side of the mill are operated to hold the upper roll away from the lower roll in conjunction with the balance cylinder assemblies 17 at the drive side.

With reference to the second embodiment of the present invention which is illustrated in FIGURE 3, in this construction the beams are not carried by the housings as in the previous arrangement, but are actually carried by the mill screws. Thus, the beams 41 and 42 are joined together at each side by a common bracket 43 through which one of the mill screws 44 pass, the screws having lower collared portions 45 adapted to support the brackets 43 and, hence, the beams 41 and 42. The upper chock 46 is provided with vertically extending members 47 and 48 which extend into the window of the housings and at upper portions have forwardly disposed flanged wheels 49. The wheels overhanging the beams 41 and 42 and are adapted to be brought into a supporting relationship therewith.

In this case, due to the piston cylinder assembly urging the upper roll away from the lower roll, the wheels 49 are not normally in contact with the beams 41 and 42. When it is desired to change the roll, the screws 44 are retracted so as to bring the top of the rails in contact with the wheels 49. In this case, the beams extend through the drive side housing so that the drive side chock may be initially supported by the beams and there is no need to employ the balance piston cylinder assemblies at the drive sit}? for this purpose during the initial movement of the ro s.

In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes, I have explained the principle and operation of my invention and have illustrated and described what I consider to represent the best embodiment thereof.

What is claimed is:

1. In a rolling mill having a housing for rotatably receing a pair of rolls and a drive for at least one of said rolls arranged on one side of said housings,

said rolls having chocks at their opposite ends,

means for engaging the chocks of the lower roll and carrying the lower roll with its chocks into and out of the housing,

a fixed beam arranged in the upper part of said housing extending through said housing,

power means arranged to extend between the chocks at the drive side of said housing for separating the upper roll from the lower roll at the drive side of the housing,

said power means adapted to raise said upper drive side chock so that the drive side chock is placed in position for engagement with said beam while said power means is operative,

said power means supporting said upper drive side chock during initial lateral movement of said upper roll after which the operation of said power means is interrupted so as to allow the drive side upper chock to rest on the said beam and to be carried thereby on the continuation of the lateral movement of said upper roll, and

means for moving said roll chock engaging and carrying means of the lower roll so as to move both rolls as a unit into and out of the mill.

2. In an arrangement for changing the rolls of a rolling mill while material is passing through the mill but not being rolled, said mill having a housing for rotatably receiving a pair of rolls and a drive for at least one of said rolls,

said rolls having chocks at their opposite ends,

means for engaging the chocks of the lower roll and carrying the lower roll with its chocks out of the housing, a beam fixedly arranged in the upper part of the housing and extending through the housing and having a portion overhanging the side of the housing opposite the drive side thereof,

the upper roll chock at the drive side provided with projections each of which is secured to a wheel arranged to engage said beam,

a stool insertable between the chocks of both rolls at the side opposite the drive side of the housing for supporting the rolls during removal from the mill,

double-acting piston cylinder assembly arranged in one of the chocks at the drive side of the housing for separating the upper roll from the lower roll at this side of the housing,

said piston cylinder assembly adapted to raise said upper drive side chock so that said wheels are placed in position for engagement with said beam while said piston cylinder assembly is operative,

said beam being laterally spaced from said upper drive side chock whereby said wheels cannot contact the beam during operation of the mill,

said piston cylinder assembly supporting said upper drive side chocks during initial lateral movement of said upper roll and until the wheels thereof move above the beam, after which the operation of the piston cylinder assembly is interrupted so as to allow the drive side upper roll chock to rest on said beam and be carried thereby on the continuation of the lateral movement, and

means for moving said roll chock engaging and carrying means of the lower roll so as to move both rolls as a unit out of the housing,

said movement being interrupted when the drive side upper roll chock passes over the material issuing through the mill.

3. In a rolling mill according to claim 2 including a second stool insertable between the drive side chocks of the upper and lower roll when the drive side upper chock passes over the material and means for causing drive side upper roll chock to disengage itself from the beam so that the upper roll is supported by said first and second stools which,

in turn, are supported by the chocks of the lower roll. 4. In a rolling mill according to claim 2 wherein said housing comprises a pair of spaced-apart housing,

scrcwdowns mounted in each housing for displacing said upper roll relative to the lower roll and wherein said beam includes a pair of parallel rails arranged to extend between said housings and on both sides of said screws.

5. In a rolling mill according to claim 1 comprising:

a pair of spaced-apart housings,

scrcwdowns rotatably received in said housings for adjusting the upper roll relative to the lower roll,

means for securing said beam to said screws,

extensions provided on said upper drive side chock,

wheels mounted on said extensions arranged so as to overhang said beams,

said beams extending in a longitudinal direction relative to said wheels so as to pass under the wheels in which said wheels are adapted to be brought into engagement with said beams when said rolls are to be removed from said mill.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,190,099 6/1965 Sieger et a1. 72-238 3,221,530 12/1965 Swallow et a1. 72-239 3,312,096 4/1967 Stubbs et a1. 72--238 FOREIGN PATENTS 703,487 2/ 1965 Canada.

RICHARD J. HERBST, Primary Examiner.

B. l. MUSTAIKIS, Assistant Examiner.

US. Cl. .XR. 

